Tittel

Forskere vil intervjue skippere med erfaring fra fiske i Barentshavet

Sammendrag

In the Research Council of Norway (RCN) funded DRIVEBANKS-project, we explore patterns and drivers (e.g. climate, fisheries) of fish diversity and turnover, focusing on shallow offshore banks in the Barents Sea. Oceanic banks are hot spots of enhanced productivity where interactions among species are strong. The enhanced productivity on banks are well known for fisheries; fishing activities are often targeted on banks. We acknowledge the experience and knowledge by fishermen on why different banks are used (or not) as fishing areas, as well as movement and variation in fish populations over time and space. In addition, there has been a tremendous change in type of fishing vessels, equipment, and freezing capacity during the last decades, and the fishing fleet structure has changed. Reliable forecasts are important for the fishing fleet for economic reasons. In 2019 we linked DRIVEBANKS to a project in the Flagship Fjord and Coast, and integrated it with social sciences, fisheries economics and management by including additional Norwegian participants. This multidisciplinary approach will provide a platform for communication and the exchange of knowledge between the scientific community and the stakeholders (i.e., fishermen and fisheries organizations), for mutual benefit and improved management of our common marine resources. Specifically, we focus on how to communicate knowledge and thereby bridging the gap between the scientific community, stakeholders, and the management.